About £1 million is wasted in Shropshire every year due to people not using prescription medicines they have ordered, health chiefs have said.

An independent study commissioned by the Department of Health found that in 2009, unused prescription medicines cost the NHS in the region of £300 million a year in England. For Shropshire County PCT, the figure amounts to at least £1 million of wasted medicines.

The PCT’s medicines management team is now working with GPs and patient groups in Shropshire, to encourage patients and healthcare professionals not to waste prescription medicines.

Tracy Savage, Shropshire County PCT’s head of medicines management, said: “The waste medicine campaign is really important, it is not only about highlighting the amount of money that can be saved through not wasting medicines. It is also about making sure that people have the right care and the right medicines, when they need them.

“Importantly, what we don’t want to do is to stop people who need regular medicine from getting their prescriptions. But we want to encourage people – patients and healthcare professionals alike – to think carefully about the medicines that are being prescribed and whether they are really needed at that time.”

As part of the campaign to help reduce the problem an initiative called ‘Take medicines for health and not for granted’ is being launched.

It will see posters and leaflets sent out to GP practices and pharmacies to promote the sensible use of medicines, with the documents also including information on how to go about ‘sensibly’ ordering repeat prescriptions.

Health officials said medicines go to waste in Shropshire and other areas due to patients receiving prescriptions they only use occasionally or not at all.

They miss out on the intended health benefits of their prescription, meaning symptoms can get worse and extra treatment is needed, which further costs the NHS.

The Department of Health study found many people are ordering and receiving medication they never even open.